Anti-Social Writers O-Side Read 'n Respond Session

GATHER TIME: 615PM. ( The plan is to give folks time eat food and drink drinks, anti-socially chat a bit. AND THE REAL WORK STARTS PROMPTLY AT 7PM. )

-- EVERY GAME HAS RULES--SO PLAY NICE:

We a convivial group & serious writers (many of us have been published in various forms). Please bring up to 5 pages each session of your novel, memoir, short story, screen play. And be prepared to listen closely and critique others' work, intelligently and respectfully.

We do have fun and then clear the desks and work hard. Please come only if you are willing to both read and critique others' work.

IT IS OK TO "JUST SHOW UP, MAGICALLY APPEAR!" But it is better to RSVP so others attending will know how many copies of their work to bring.

READERS 'n RESPONDERS WELCOME! Those who love to write and have a story to tell will love this meetup! Come prepared to read your work (5 pages) and have the schmartest, most insightful, and useful responses to offer on your fellow writer's work. So if this sounds like you--come be our Hero! ;-)

If you cannot make a meeting and have RSVP'd YES, please change your RSVP to NO, as there may be people on the Waiting List who can use your seat at the table!

Please try to bring enough copies of your work for all members who have RSVP'd YES.

You can submit as long a piece by email as you want. And those who receive it can read as much or as little as they want. But at the meeting, the number of pages each person can read is determined by the number of folks who show up, divided by available time, square by the orbit of Uranus, allowing for solar drag, of course.( We tend to average 5 typewritten double-spaced 12 pt Times New Roman pages per participant...)

Folks who want to email their work in advance of the meeting (a very schmart idea) can do so.

A SUPER EASY WAY TO SHARE YOUR WORK BEFORE THE MEETINGS BY UPLOADING IT INTO THE CLOUD:

Don't forget! A Word with you Press is hosting DimeStories on Feb 15th at 6:00. You could have your work broadcast on radio which is GRE$T if you want that on your resume when you send your work to agents or publishers. Here are some details: http://www.awordwithyoupress.com/2013/02/04/dime-after-dime/

Menu for next week Wednesday the 13th: Shrimp, chicken and beef tacos or burritos. We have been doing well at breaking even with everyone contributing $5 at the door, but I notice some people still put in $20 and others nothing at all. Please help share the load, if you can, though of course it is never mandatory.

I'm so glad, Ronnie! That's why we all undertake the difficult task of sharing our creative work, isn't it? So that by putting ourselves out there for others to assess, we might get some feedback or inspiration or encouragement that helps us. We are so close to our work and care about it so much, it's useful to have unattached hearts and minds provide other ways of seeing it. Not that we always agree with their suggestions, but that we are open to the possibility that we might leave with just a nugget of something valuable. That's the value of a writers group, otherwise we'd just be reading aloud to practice our reading aloud skills. ;-) Anyhow, you also provided me helpful insight. I was very unsure of those opening pages and now I have a better idea of what worked and what I can improve. THANK YOU all for that!

After writing a column for 12 years I have learned to leave my ego on the cutting room floor. I do some writing for myself but what I bring to the group is for others to read and I appreciate the feedback that they give because if what I am writing does not convey anything of interest it too goes in the trash.

The Session was like being inside a beehive other than the one I call home of varying thoughts well intended for the common purpose of wishing to be heard, to improve one's written word and to engage socially. The phrase 'anti-social' and the phrase 'misfit' seemed to mean me and not them. The word 'writer' seemed to mean all attending; although the quaility varied drastically. The word 'creative' was perhaps the strongest matching one, because the hunger to bring words to life was shared by all. In some ways I felt like a time traveler from the 1860s visiting a group of other writers better set in their own time without the ability or desire to understand mine as far as writing style. Within this challenge my manners failed to be gracious and for this I must apologize.

Debra- My Coco calls herself by this name and wears the perfume of that name to remind her mother of the pain Coco Chanel caused her in employment & her house later caused her as a fashion designer becoming an independent. This is brought out in the novel version, but not as much in the short story. The focus of the short story is about Malsy and Coco's relationship to each other coming to an unlikely awareness.

The meet-up last night was so rewarding. Everyone had good remarks regarding what I read. I want to especially thank Sarah and Sally for their comments on my essay. After looking at their suggestions the changes make perfect sense! Thank you!

I am reading two facsinating books. One is "Wolf" a bio of Jack London, His real adventures had to do with combating social injustice in America. the other read is non fiction (moi? read non-fiction?) "The Orientalist" about an equally fasten eighting character from about the same time period in Baku. There existed an enclave in the middle east where muslims, jews, christians and others settled their differences by poetry reads! on a weekly basis, even as the poroms pomgrenated. Baku was the potential of utopia where East met West in an oil rich city even as 1917 approached.

Stir fry and rice this wednesday. we forgot the raffle for everyone who brings something to read. We'll make up for it Wednesday. Please bring a side dish.cheers!thorn

A former member

Hi everyone I'm reading a short story entitled "Phantoms" from the Best American Short Stories. I highly recommend it; it's one of the most thought provoking stories I read in a long time. I enjoy reading the Best American series both essays and short stories. Have a fabulous weekend and see you in 2 weeks Debbie

Meet other San Diego County writers. Build and be part of a creative community. Share your work, ideas, insights, and wild ravings. Make friends with other creative misfits just as endearingly odd as you! Drink wine. Wear black berets. Carry a beat up paperback copy of The Brothers Karamazov wherever you go. All writers -- and should-be writers -- are welcome!

Pal around with terrorists--wait! We mean, Schmooze with other writers!--at our WORD ANTI-SOCIAL EVENTS! Including Anti-Social Happy Hours, Ganging Up to Crash Dime Stories Readings, attending readings by visiting authors, The WORD/Bergen Bugle Annual Bastille Day Anti-Social, Victor Villasenor's Snow Goose Thanksgiving, Garrison Keillor, and lots of other schtuff like that, all for Writers and Other Creative Misfits to get together and have fun!